Muslim action saves basilica of Bethlehem

The monks who tend the grotto under the Byzantine basilica of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the spot where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born, have been unable to work together for upwards of 1000 years, 3 different sects, Armenian Orthodox, Franciscan and Greek Orthodox monks have been battling it out over who has jurisdiction over what part of the church for that many years, in one incident, in 2007, the long-bearded monks scuffled, using fists, brooms and iron rods, because one group had tried to wash parts of a wall claimed by another.
Mahoumed Abbas, the president of the Palestinian national authority, has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a decree that the church must be repaired,to prevent the churches ancient lead roof from collapsing on the mosaic floor.

Fire and brimstone! is all I dare say to that bit of unorthodox news...

Mahoumed Abbas, the president of the Palestinian national authority, has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a decree that the church must be repaired,to prevent the churches ancient lead roof from collapsing on the mosaic floor.

reply to post by survivalsurfer


Harmony between the faiths is probably a result of the Obama administration!

The Muslims wanted the roof repaired because if they didn't get it done they were going to loose a nice source of tourist money should the church collapse IMHO.

reply to post by plumranch


oh come on.. could it be that this is a case of a person acknowledging the importance of the site and trying to do the right thing.

where's the spirit of christmas people?

These kinds of apparently trivial boundary arguments have been the source of wars and conflicts for ages in a land where property rights of ownership are linked to family and religion. I suppose for modern Americans, the best way of thinking of it is that they are theological "gangs" and each gang has its turf.

Because of the struggle for turf control, the groups conspire against each other. Sometimes it takes an outsider (here, one of Muslim faith) who can take the long view, smack a couple of ears and say "we'll do it THIS way!"

It's a tangled and complex situation... but I am amused that they still can't resolve their issues and that it took a Muslim to settle the argument.